#ART OF ILLUSION GALLERY SERIES#

Prager's scenes ripple with impending or current disaster, threatening her perfect dystopias. Behind the tableaux's technicolour exterior lies an uncomfortable undercurrent.

Prager's images are super-saturated and enhanced in post-production, ensuring images that positively vibrate with colour. Although caught in the same mayhem in Welcome Home, each individual responds very differently – some scream whilst others stand motionless. Where Crewdson alienates his figures within barren landscapes, Prager portrays the poignancy of anonymity in a crowd. This thought may seem paradoxical however, it makes perfect sense when looking at her images. Arguably her most iconic skill is utilizing crowds of people to highlight humanity's individuality, as seen in Welcome Home. Inspired by mid-twentieth century cinema, Prager's elaborate sets reimagine Golden Age Hollywood. Prager’s characters are so fantastically unique that our imagination continues their stories outside the frame.Īlex Prager, Crowd 9 (Sunset Five), 2013, Archival Pigment Print She has attributed inspiration for this style of work to artists and directors including Cindy Sherman, Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Douglas Sirk. Like Crewdson, Prager conceives ornately staged sets for her shots, appearing more like film stills than individual photographs. The quirks and foibles of American culture are examined by Alex Prager in her films and photography series. Although whole in the editorial, the lives and narratives of these individuals are disjointed, branching off to different places with endless possibilities for where they might end up. However, their stories are not confined to the editorial, as each photograph exists as an independent work of art available for purchase. The Secret Stories follow the lives of vibrant fictional characters who personify and satirize various tropes and themes of corporate America.

#ART OF ILLUSION GALLERY SERIES#

Please Don't Tell's secret stories, specializes in constructing unique narratives brought to life by a series of theatrically staged photographs influenced by artists such as Prager and Crewdson. Who that?, Jean Malek ( Oxycontin Blues) Limited Edition – Archival pigment printed on pure cotton fine art paper, 67 x 48 inches. The stories feature in Please Don't Tell combines the visual impact of cinematic photography with engaging descriptions. For example, an advantage of the written word is describing multiple scenes or subjects and depicting both visual and cerebral elements. Photography, film and literature are all excellent storytelling vehicles and tell a tale in different ways. Like director Christopher Nolan's iconic, non-linear storytelling, we are encouraged to appreciate Crewdson's artwork for what it is – not what it means.Īnimating Secret Stories with Photography In this way, Crewdson's artworks transcend the physical boundaries of the photographs, gallery walls and computer screens to exist as an enduring human experience. The artist's open-ended images are lingering, not granting us the satisfaction of closure. Crewdson presents enigmatic narrative suggestions, making us believe there must be an underlying story, or at least some explanation, only to leave us stood in the dark. Unlike a written narrative or a motion picture, these questions go unanswered. Therefore, the viewer interrogates the scene, seeking clues to answer all the questions we feel are entitled to us: Who is this? What are they doing here? Where are we? and so on. The cinematic, theatrical style of these images indeed invites a sense of visual narrative.

Art of illusion gallery